


Enough

by seldomifever



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/M, Post-Episode s03e20 The Prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seldomifever/pseuds/seldomifever
Summary: Giles waits for Buffy in the library after the prom.
Relationships: Rupert Giles/Buffy Summers
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	Enough

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose and yawned. He should have gone straight home, taken a much-needed shower, and crawled into the bed he hadn’t seen in nearly 36 hours. He should not have been sitting on the couch, in his office, covered in dirt, with his favorite green mug in hand, waiting for Buffy.

The tinny echoes of music that reverberated throughout the halls for most of the night had mercifully ended. Giles checked his watch. She would be here momentarily if she planned to come at all. He felt foolish worrying, but this particular anxiety had become second nature. The news of Angel’s imminent departure should have put him at ease but had not; asking Angel to reconsider attending the dance with Buffy could prove an idiotic mistake. 

His eyes burned with exhaustion. Giles closed them, letting his mind drift idly around an earlier fantasy he’d had of taking Buffy on holiday, far from the carnivorous mouth of hell, if they survived the Ascension. His eyes flew open. When. When they survived the Ascension. The irony of finally getting what he’d longed for, so near their possible demise, had not escaped him. Throughout his years in Sunnydale, Giles had learned to despise irony.

She arrived.

“You finished without me?”

His dulled senses sharpened at the sight of her standing in his office doorway, hands on hips, bottom lip jutting out in a slight and familiar pout. His pulse quickened. 

He nodded.

“You should have waited. I was coming to help, see?” Buffy spread her arms. “I’ve even got my dig-a-fresh-grave clothes on.” 

She yawned and reached for the ceiling in a stretch that caused her sweatshirt to ride up, revealing a bronzed hipbone above the waistband of her low-cut jeans. His eyes grazed over her form. She looked adorable. 

Giles ducked his head and sipped from his mug as he watched her approach. He hid his smile, feeling slightly ashamed at his delight; she had not left with Angel. 

“You’ve done quite enough for one night, Buffy. You deserve a prom free of burying Hellhounds, don’t you agree?”

“Well, yeah, but I thought it was part of the job description: no fun allowed.” 

She climbed on the couch and knelt on the cushion beside him, pressing her knees against his thigh. She wrapped her hand around his, leaned over, and sniffed the contents of his mug.

“Scotch?” she asked. Before he could answer, she placed the cup to her lips and swallowed. 

Giles sighed. He should not indulge her, but there were many things he should not let her do. Allowing a sip of single malt now and then was hardly the worst of his transgressions. There was this, he thought, as she hitched her leg over his, resting her knee directly across his lap. She snuggled against his shoulder until he wrapped his arm around her, holding her close. His fingers found their way beneath her hair. He rubbed his thumb along the back of Buffy’s neck in that way he knew she liked until her purr became a moan that sent a hot stab of arousal down his spine.

“We did well tonight, Giles,” she mumbled into his chest as she trailed her hand across his stomach, indifferent to the filth covering his sweater.

“Mmm.” Giles brushed his lips over her hair. She jerked back.

“Oh, crap. I totally forgot I have to go back and take care of that idiot, Tucker.”

Giles released the breath he had not been aware of holding. He’d half-expected her to announce she’d come to her senses and was leaving him. 

“Already taken care of,” he said. His gentle tone did not betray his anxiety.

“What would I do without you?” Buffy smiled and burrowed back into him. 

Giles relaxed in her embrace. He was far too old to be at the mercy of a mercurial adolescent girl. Or not, he thought as Buffy began kissing and nibbling along his jaw. She pulled away again.

“What did you do with him?” 

Giles furrowed his brow and debated telling her. Her eyes darted back and forth to each of his, searching for a truth he hoped never to utter. She had the right to know. But when he opened his mouth to speak, Buffy brought a finger to his lips. 

“Don’t. Don’t tell me.” She tucked her head into the crook of his neck; her warm breath tickled his skin. “It’s easier that way.”

Giles felt grateful he could spare her the more unpleasant aspects of their calling--from the harsh reality of dealing with those who’d cross metaphysical boundaries, unleashing dark forces, endangering all of their lives. Endangering her life. He gripped her tighter at the thought.

This is what it came down to for him, endlessly, repeatedly: her life. The list of shoulds and shouldn’ts blurred against the backdrop of their reality. He could deny her nothing. More importantly, he had no desire to do so. And when her lips found his, he kissed her without remorse or hesitation.

She was here, and, for this moment, at least, it was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Every Slayer Needs a Watcher ficathon
> 
> From the prompt: prom, library, kissage, and no dancing


End file.
